LIQUID ASSETS Why water is a performance-enhancer
All bodybuilders should know to drink plenty of water, yet water consumption remains one of the most neglected aspects of bodybuilding nutrition. Even an average person needs at least eight eight-ounce glasses (64 ounces, or two quarts) of water a day. Bodybuilders need more. When you train intensely, you should consume three to four liters (about three to four quarts) of water per day, especially if you are taking caffeine, or any other dehydrating
substance.
Drinking water (hydration) can itself be performance enhancing. For bodybuilders, consuming about 16 ounces of water 35-40 minutes before training can help boost performance. When you hydrate your body, you increase blood volume for a period of time. Training tends to reduce blood volume because you lose water through sweating. This in turn elevates your heart rate. Consuming plenty of water before and during training helps mitigate these responses and prolong your overall systemic endurance. Equally important for bodybuilders, loading up on water and pushing blood volume helps ensure that you'll get the maximum possible pump in the muscles you're working.
Caffeine consumption prior to a workout probably has a negligible effect on dehydration during training. We know that caffeine is performance enhancing, so taking caffeine can provide you with a tremendous boost both psychologically and physically. The dehydrating effects of caffeine don't come into play immediately, so if you're going to get dehydrated, that will happen after you've finished training. A study (A.C. Grandjean et al., "The effect of caffeinated, non-caffeinated, caloric and non-caloric beverages on hydration," Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 19[5]:591-600, October 2000) addressed the issue of how dehydrating caffeine is. After analysis, the researchers concluded that those who are regular consumers of caffeine suffer far less from the dehydrating effects than those who are unaccustomed to caffeine. The study supplied 18 healthy male volunteers with various amounts and types of fluids on four separate occasions. All of the participants were regular consumers of caffeinated products, averaging between 61 milligrams (mg) and 464 mg daily. The trial beverages ranged from zero to 253 mg of caffeine. As part of the research, all of the subjects monitored their food intake and urinary frequency, and they ate a controlled diet for two days during each trial. All the caffeine treatments caused mild losses of fluid (less than 0.5%), but not enough to cause concern about performance. If you regularly consume caffeinated beverages plus more than two liters of water per day, then you are likely compensating efficiently for excess water loss.
